The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire

The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire (often referred to as the Blue Book in Turkish sources[1]) is a book written by Viscount Bryce and Arnold J. Toynbee, first published in 1916, that contains a compilation of statements from eyewitnesses of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire during 1915-1916.[2]

The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
AuthorArnold Joseph Toynbee
Original titleThe Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire: Documents presented to Viscount Grey of Fallodon
CountryEngland, UK
LanguageEnglish
SubjectHistory
PublisherHodder and Stoughton
Publication date
1916
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages684

Contents

Commissioned by the British Government and issued as an official Parliamentary "Blue Book" report in October 1916, the volume is divided regionally into twenty sections, each of which contains multiple eyewitness and secondhand reports, dispatches, news articles, and letters. In total there were 149 documents and 15 appendixes.[3] The publication presents Arnold J. Toynbee's analysis of the population in the Ottoman Empire. The presented table and map show the re-calculated values of the stated provinces using values where Armenians were the majority of the population, according to Toynbee's estimates.

  • Ethnic values of Six vilayets according to presented data.
  • Ethnic map of Six vilayets according to presented data.

Criticism

The book has been criticized by some Turkish denialists as propaganda to build up support for the war.[4] However, Bryce submitted the work to scholars for verification before its publication. Oxford professor Gilbert Murray stated of the tome, "...the evidence of these letters and reports will bear any scrutiny and overpower any skepticism. Their genuineness is established beyond question."[5] Other professors, including Herbert Fisher of Sheffield University and former American Bar Association president Moorfield Storey, affirmed the same conclusion.[6]

In 2005, the Turkish National Assembly demanded an apology for the publication of the book.[7]

See also

References
  1. Kamuran Gurun, The Armenian File, p39 - "The Bryce report is the Blue Book of the British".
  2. The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-1916: Documents Presented to Viscount Grey of Falloden by Viscount Bryce, James Bryce and Arnold Toynbee, Uncensored Edition. Ara Sarafian (ed.) Princeton, N.J.: Gomidas Institute, 2000. ISBN 0-9535191-5-5
  3. Michelle Tusan, "Crimes against Humanity": Human Rights, the British Empire, and the Origins of the Response to the Armenian Genocide, in American Historical Review, February 2014, page 57.
  4. "Arnold J. Toynbee ve James Bryce'nin Hazırladığı "Treatment of the Armenians in the Ottoman". Atatürk Araştırma Merkezi. Arnold J. Toynbee 1915 Çanakkale ve 1921′de I. ve II. İnönü Savaşlarına savaş muhabiri olarak katılmıştır. İngiltere Dışişleri Bakanlığı adına da görev yapmıştır. PRO. W. O. 104 serisi incelendiği zaman bu görülecektir. Kendisi mutaassıp bir Hıristiyan olarak tanınır.
  5. Dadrian. History of the Armenian Genocide, p. 228.
  6. Dadrian. History of the Armenian Genocide, pp. 228–9.
  7. Anderson, Margaret Lavinia (2015). "Genocide of Armenians: Through Swedish EyesThe Armenian Genocide: Evidence from the German Foreign Office Archives, 1915–1916". Holocaust and Genocide Studies. 29 (3): 483–488 [485]. doi:10.1093/hgs/dcv051.

Online copy
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